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WRENTHAM - Something as simple as casting a ballot for someone who is legally blind, used to mean giving up a measure of privacy so an assistant could read choices and mark the ballot.

That isn't the case any longer as communities across the state are receiving handicapped accessible voting machines, which are now required for every polling place.

Several area towns, including Wrentham, North Attleboro, Norfolk and Plainville, got firsthand training at Wrentham's public safety building on using the machines - just in time for annual town elections.

"Every polling place across the country has to have an accessible piece of voting equipment," said Bridget Simmons, an elections specialist for the secretary of state's office.

The state tested three types of machines extensively at November's state election before deciding on a computerized system that will mark the paper ballots for disabled voters. "It's nothing more than a 40-pound pen - it's a $7,000, 40-pound pen but what it does is nothing more than a pen. It isn't a tabulator, it just marks the ballot for someone who has a hard time doing it themselves," Simmons explained.

The machine has a large touch-screen that can enlarge the text on a ballot for the visually impaired and a headset that can be used to listen to the ballot for the hearing impaired. Voters who don't have use of their limbs can plug in a puffer or a paddle to navigate through the ballot.

Once the voter makes his or her choices, the machine prints the selections on the ballot, which is then counted by the town's regular voting tabulator.

The new machines do come with expenses, however. While the state has agreed to pay to program the machines for all regularly scheduled elections in 2007 and 2008, individual towns will be responsible for the cost of programming the machines for any special elections.

In addition, the towns need to pay for ink cartridges that cost between $30 and $45, depending on the type of equipment used to count the ballots in individual communities.